Luke Humphries urges change after Euro Tour occasion second left him ‘annoyed’

Luke Humphries ended a three-match losing streak with a nervy victory over Boris Krcmar in his first match at the European Darts Trophy on Saturday evening

Luke Humphries urged himself to improve after feeling “frustrated” with his recent performances.

The world No.1 ended a three-match losing streak with a hard-fought win over Boris Krcmar in his first match at the European Darts Trophy.

Following defeat to Gian van Veen in the Players Championship 6 final earlier this month, Humphries failed to secure a win in the next two Premier League nights. The 2024 world champion blew a three-leg lead against Michael van Gerwen before losing 6-4 on Thursday.

It seemed like history was about to repeat itself against world No. 119 Krcmar in Germany, as Humphries again let a three-leg lead slip. However, unlike mid-week, his opponent couldn’t capitalize on the mistake, and Humphries kept his composure to win the final two legs needed to progress to the last 16.

Unhappy with his performance, Humphries told PDC TV: “I thought he [Krcmar] played really well, there was that one leg where he missed a lot of darts, maybe cost him the game in the end. It’s a lot of wires again, it’s on the wire, I need to change that.

“It’s frustrating for myself, I come up here feeling really good but it’s just not happening. I thought he was brilliant there, nice to get back to winning ways.

When asked why he practised alone on stage before the games began, Humphries explained: “I’m a perfectionist. I feel like, I’m playing okay but not getting the results.

“Wanted to get up here, get the feel for the throw and remind myself I can do it on the big stage. Of course, it wasn’t my best performance, but I hit a few good finishes at the right time there. I love playing on the European Tour and losing in the first round two weeks ago was a little bit disappointing.”

Aiming to make a mark in the latter stages of the tournament in Germany, Humphries added: “Now I can put it right and have a good run this weekend. I’ve only won one big stage title this year [so far], the last few years it’s been going better than that. I really feel up for it this weekend, I want to prove something for myself and maybe pick the title up.”

Humphries will face Michael Smith in Sunday’s third-round clash at the European Darts Trophy. Meanwhile, Saturday saw victories for Gary Anderson, Van Gerwen, and Gerwyn Price. Luke Littler was absent from the tournament.

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